Most of you have been teaching for several weeks. Patterns are probably beginning to emerge and classroom routines are probably making you feel more comfortable than you were when you started. Can you still see the teacher that you started this semester wanting to be? Are you satisfied that you're actually teaching or are you concerned that you may be getting immersed in playing the "game of school*?" Assess your teaching so far. What are you doing well, and what do you know you need to work on? What evidence are you seeing for both your successes and difficulties? What are you determined to change and why?
Before I left my high school placement, I was very comfortable with the classroom routines. I had started developing relationships with all of the students and they had gotten used to my protocols everyday in class. I was very satisfied with my time at the high school. The students told me they enjoyed my activities and felt that they learned a great deal from my lessons. At times, I did feel as though I was just going along with the game of school (giving notes on new material and then giving quizzes and exams to test their knowledge), but I felt as though the inquiry activities that I used mixed things up and forced students to become engaged in their learning and think deeper about the material.
I've been at the middle school for almost two weeks now and I'm still getting used to my CT's rules and classroom procedures. Sixth grade is definitely different from honors 11th grade and I'm still adjusting to this change. I need to repeat instructions more often and make my expectations very clear. Small things like putting away papers in the correct sections of binders or setting up for a lab need to be done as a class step by step, which I need to remember instead of just letting students loose. I also need to work on my classroom management strategies for middle school. These are good kids but they can get very chatty and lose focus easily.
I'm not sure if I had an idea of which type of teacher I wanted to be before I started student teaching, but I definitely have a vision now. My high school CT was more relaxed and open with her students while my middle school CT is very strict and structured. In the future, I would like to have the type of relationships that my high school CT has with her students, but I like the structure of my middle school CT's classroom. I can see myself as a happy medium between the two styles.
Before I left my high school placement, I was very comfortable with the classroom routines. I had started developing relationships with all of the students and they had gotten used to my protocols everyday in class. I was very satisfied with my time at the high school. The students told me they enjoyed my activities and felt that they learned a great deal from my lessons. At times, I did feel as though I was just going along with the game of school (giving notes on new material and then giving quizzes and exams to test their knowledge), but I felt as though the inquiry activities that I used mixed things up and forced students to become engaged in their learning and think deeper about the material.
I've been at the middle school for almost two weeks now and I'm still getting used to my CT's rules and classroom procedures. Sixth grade is definitely different from honors 11th grade and I'm still adjusting to this change. I need to repeat instructions more often and make my expectations very clear. Small things like putting away papers in the correct sections of binders or setting up for a lab need to be done as a class step by step, which I need to remember instead of just letting students loose. I also need to work on my classroom management strategies for middle school. These are good kids but they can get very chatty and lose focus easily.
I'm not sure if I had an idea of which type of teacher I wanted to be before I started student teaching, but I definitely have a vision now. My high school CT was more relaxed and open with her students while my middle school CT is very strict and structured. In the future, I would like to have the type of relationships that my high school CT has with her students, but I like the structure of my middle school CT's classroom. I can see myself as a happy medium between the two styles.